Ok, let's face it: Naruto's been in decline since Chapter 402. Sasuke's "...to destroy Konoha!" line was the last "great" moment in the series. Since then, we've suffered through Naruto's Plot Win against Pain, both physically and mentally. I won't even start on Killer Bee. And Sakura mysteriously ditched hundreds of chapters of character development (and broke the laws of physics and adreniline) to ensure that Kishi's precious Sasuke survived, and could continue to "grace" future arcs with his "interesting" character.

Sure, there's been good moments: the Five Kages arc (Sasuke-E fight notwithstanding) played several long-predicted cards (Fourth Great Shinobi War, Ten-Tailed Beast, Danzo has the Sharingan, etc.), but managed to make most of them interesting regardless. We got to spend a few dozen chapters thinking that Sakura would kill Sasuke and finally be redeemed in the eyes of the fans. And you can't tell me anyone saw "Danzo-has-the-First-Hokage's-face-on-his-shoulder" coming. (Ok, so someone did predict it, but it was in one fairly small thread that didn't generate many responses until we found the twist out and were awed that the OP had figured it out months ahead of time.)

But through it all, except for the Sasuke-E fight, it was good enough for me to look forward to it each week. That's now changed.

Three weeks ago, halfway through the chapter, we got the "Naruto-learns-to-control-the-Nine-Tails" storyline. Despite the huge build-up over the past few years, the "Controlling" has come off a Contrived Plot Power-Up. I've had to struggle to get through the last two chapters. I'll start from Page 10 of Chapter 490.

All Naruto has to do to gain complete control of the Fox's Chakra is unlock the Toad Frog's seal, and have a strong will with no hatred! Ok, first: Seriously?! Why have they never mentioned this before? Sure, this was vaugely alluded to in Chapter 370, but it feels like a big retcon of all the times where people wondered how Naruto could possibly control the Nine-Tailed Fox. Second: The whole "Pure-Hearted Hero" is so painful cliched. Making the character like that reduces them to pure one-dimensionality. Oh wait, Naruto was already like that. Never mind...
Kisame is inside Samehada! This will probably play out vaugely interestingly eventually, but for now that plot point's been forgotten.
Killer Bee. Why do people find his character interesting? He's entirely one-dinensional (Strong, Pure-Hearted Black Rapper!). His power's generic Jinchuriki stuff, and his Biju being a cooperative teammate retcons a lot of what we'd heard about them. Anytime that he starts rapping, either aloud or in his head, it's so pathetic and Un-Rappy that I just skip over it. Seriously, I found the Filler Jinchuriki Utakata more unique and interesting than him, both in power and personality. I mean, I understand it's a person's personal opinion whether that like a character or not, but what do they see in him?! (I'm actually asking here.) To me, he represents all that is wrong with the Post-Chapter 402 Naruto world.
That Gay Scene between Naruto and the Toad. I made a thread pointing out the double-entandre lines. ("Hey! Open Wider!" "Why through the mouth? This slimy feeling is making me gag...") Some people said that I was funny. Other people called me "a perv", "immature", and "the reason they're glad they're no longer in High School". (I'm in Middle School.) The fact of the matter is, I noticed it becuase it's so much more interesting to pretend the Gay Subtext is intentional than to see the scene for what it is: another Dull Development in the "Naruto-gets-a-retcony-powerup" storyline.
Two Random Ninja Guys want Naruto's autograph for their son. (Or something like that.) This scene is annoying, cliched, filler, and (at the time) seems to exist only to drive the point home: "Hey, the villagers like Naruto now!"
The Re-Five Kages Meeting (thankfully) didn't last long, but it didn't exist for much other than to recap the "Should Killer Bee and Naruto be allowed to fight in the war?" debate, and establish that they'll be sent to an island... somewhere.
After the Generic Squid jumps out of the Generic Water, the Generic Cloud Ninja exclaims, "It's here!!! Th... This is the thing I was about to tell you to keep an eye out for, and now it's here!!!" Um... Thanks for the Contrived Exposition, but don't you have better things to do while the Squid's attacking than explain, in stilted dialogue, that this is what you were going to mention?
Generic Cloud Ninja explains that Killer Bee's songs are, "not just any rhymes. It's an original style that combines a rap beat with the melody of a ballad. Ballad-Rapping!" He's clearly in admiration of Killer Bee's "mad skills" at rapping as he says this, which is so sad and depressing that I don't think I can mock this event.
Guy's (for some unexplained reason) on the boat! I usually find his appearances lame, but compared to the current cast, I really hope he gets to take some screentime away Killer Bee and Naruto to explain "The Power of Youth!!!"
I'm not going to bother to explain all the things we learn about the island and it's animals, but I will say that it's really, really cliched. (The Gorilla somehow understands Killer Bee's Japanese! Yay!)
The house is (for the fans) shaped like the Eight Tails! ...Ok, I'll admit it. Kishi made it look pretty cool.
Naruto raps. ...OH GOD NO I'LL NEVER GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD!
Killer Bee and Naruto "bump their fists together", the "proper greeting". This feels like a sad and desperate attempt to have Naruto do "what all the cool kids are doing these days!" that's just as out-of-place in the Naruto world as when Naruto and Sasuke did it in the first opening theme.
The return of Sexy Jutsu. No. Just... No.
Evil Naruto appears! Who knows, maybe, if I hadn't already filled myself with an intense hatred for this chapter, I would've liked this. But I was just trying to get it over with, and so I saw this event as a cliched, typical Manga Twist.
It looks like the next arc will be focused on an obligatory Naruto/Killer Bee teamup, and I needed somewhere to vent my frusterations with this chapter.

Anyway, I started out just explaining how lame these chapters were, but found it was easier to do jokes about how bad they were instead. I spent about two hours on this, so if you found this funny or interesting, please take 10 seconds to Up Rep me. If you don't, then please comment, as it helps me feel like it was worth it to spend all my time on this.

EDIT: To those who say, "Earn Rep, don't beg for it!" I've found that more people give me rep if I remind them at the end, and given that I spent a few hours on this, I'd say I've earned the right to remind people and get a few more points. Now please don't Down Rep me for "asking for rep".

EDIT 2: Ok, maybe all this is exposition and set-up for the upcoming War Arc, and will be worth it in the end. But that doesn't change the fact that it's painfully bad right now. Does anyone else agree with me?

EDIT 3: -_-... Someone Down Repped me anyway. And to top it all off, they didn't leave a name.

RicenChicken

04-22-2010, 08:55 PM

for 1. Asking to be repped, is dumb. Earn it without asking/begging.

2. though all statements are to long, i did read them i just dont feel like posting about it. least we didnt see naruto start fist pumping or windmilling.

next thing you know an akatsuki member that dances to kill you.

Kuroda Taishi

04-22-2010, 08:58 PM

Too long to read.

Yori

04-22-2010, 09:07 PM

You do know that another war is coming right? You do know with war their comes character development and planning right? A new eye, Kabuto, what the zombies can actually do, and the other abilities of certain ninja's that hasn't been fully laid out yet takes time.

No it has not been on the decline because when Sasuke got his screen time every body whined about the series name is Naruto. Now that Naruto is back as the main you already criticizing and it hasn't been that long. Just sit back and watch how this plays out man. I disagree with you on this one, we finally get to see how a host can learn to tame his beast, be grateful for that

Twilight Original

04-22-2010, 09:07 PM

for 1. Asking to be repped, is dumb. Earn it without asking/begging.

2. though all statements are to long, i did read them i just dont feel like posting about it. least we didnt see naruto start fist pumping or windmilling.

next thing you know an akatsuki member that dances to kill you.

True. He will pretty much, most likely get downed repped instead.

Also, this is to long, xDDD.

EDIT: To those who say, "Earn Rep, don't beg for it!" I've found that more people give me rep if I remind them at the end, and given that I spent a few hours on this, I'd say I've earned the right to remind people and get a few more points. Now please don't Down Rep me for "asking for rep".So now you are begging people to not down rep you? That's pretty much complaining about down repps.

ShariKage

04-22-2010, 09:08 PM

Kishi is leading up to something big.

If you don't like it, I don't see why you would take so much time to write something that long.

Hidan

04-22-2010, 09:22 PM

Hmm, I have to say, I disagree on this. The Pain Invasion Arc was my favorite Arc in the whole manga/going to be anime. It has the longest fight in the manga and the most interesting, what killed it was the ending, but if you just read up to where Naruto goes up to Nagato then it should all be fine.

Also I have to say on a completely unrelated note, Sakura can not beat Hidan. You always want Sakura and Karin, it simply can't happen. Read this thread (http://naruto.viz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52354&highlight=Sakura+Hidan) for proof. Also Karin can't beat Danzo -_- But besides that...

What is wrong with Sexy Jutsu Returning, we have yet to see it in Shippuden, I was sort of hoping that we never see it until Naruto vs Sasuke and he uses it to defeat Sasuke, but unfortunately that didn't happen xD

Although The Five Kage Summit arc was... probably my 3rd of 4th Favorite Arc in the series. I enjoy Killer Bee, he is allot more better than Sakura in any shape or form. Sakura is now in my eyes a selfish character. Just read through her dialog, she always acts like she should be in charge and she is a know it all. Even in the anime, she barley has any fights and is really weak, she couldn't stand 10 seconds with Sasori if she was alone, she had allot of help from Chiyo. (Sakura couldn't even defeat Hiriko without Chiyo)

But anyways, enough on my rant with Sakura. The sceen with Naruto and the toad, only you and a few others thought of that until you pointed it out. There have been other things going in and out of peoples mouths before, heck that thing came out of Jiraiya's mouth. It has to go into the persons body for it to work, don't think to much into it.

And villagers worship Naruto after the Pain Invasion Arc, don't you see all the villagers gather around and cheering him on. They just haven't had the chance to reward the hero who saved the whole village through a book.

Well, for the five Kages, would you rather them just appear on tv randomly like the Daimayos? They needed to discuss where the Jinchuriki's go, they didn't get that far before Sasuke interrupted in the last meting and they had to rush their plans in which forgot about discussion there.

Those are just some points to see, I could say more but to lazy.

C4 Karura

04-22-2010, 09:41 PM

Hmm, I have to say, I disagree on this. The Pain Invasion Arc was my favorite Arc in the whole manga/going to be anime. It has the longest fight in the manga and the most interesting, what killed it was the ending, but if you just read up to where Naruto goes up to Nagato then it should all be fine.
Actually, Kishi made Pain weaker so that Naruto could beat him. I could elaborate, but I need to go to bed soon, and don't want to spend 20 minutes typing it out.
Also I have to say on a completely unrelated note, Sakura can not beat Hidan. You always want Sakura and Karin, it simply can't happen. Read this thread (http://naruto.viz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52354&highlight=Sakura+Hidan) for proof. Also Karin can't beat Danzo -_- But besides that...
Ok, fine. You're right about Sakura losing to Hidan. But when did I ever say that Karin could beat Danzo?
What is wrong with Sexy Jutsu Returning, we have yet to see it in Shippuden, I was sort of hoping that we never see it until Naruto vs Sasuke and he uses it to defeat Sasuke, but unfortunately that didn't happen xD
We saw it at the beginning of Shipudden. Anyway, I find it annoying, but it some people find it funny, I guess I can deal with Kishi spending two pages on it.
Although The Five Kage Summit arc was... probably my 3rd of 4th Favorite Arc in the series. I enjoy Killer Bee, he is allot more better than Sakura in any shape or form. Sakura is now in my eyes a selfish character. Just read through her dialog, she always acts like she should be in charge and she is a know it all. Even in the anime, she barley has any fights and is really weak, she couldn't stand 10 seconds with Sasori if she was alone, she had allot of help from Chiyo. (Sakura couldn't even defeat Hiriko without Chiyo)
Yes, the Five Kages arc was good. I never said it wasn't. As for liking Killer Bee and not Sakura, that's an opinion, and I'm fine with it. However, your reasons for hating Sakura are exactly the things I spent several weeks disproving in my various, popular, Town Bookstore Sakura threads (like "Why Is Everyone Being So Stupid About The Sakura Situation?") If you want to, I can link to them. Also, Sakura effortlessy dodged several dozen of Sasori's puppets, even while not under Chiyo's control.
But anyways, enough on my rant with Sakura. The sceen with Naruto and the toad, only you and a few others thought of that until you pointed it out. There have been other things going in and out of peoples mouths before, heck that thing came out of Jiraiya's mouth. It has to go into the persons body for it to work, don't think to much into it.
Yes, I get that there's a perfectly good reason the frog was going down his throat. I was just saying that there was an unitentional Gay Subtext in the scene, which is much more interesting than the actual scene itself.
And villagers worship Naruto after the Pain Invasion Arc, don't you see all the villagers gather around and cheering him on. They just haven't had the chance to reward the hero who saved the whole village through a book.
Yes, but it seemed like a cliched scene. (Hey, the people want Naruto's autograph, now that he's a celebrity!)
Well, for the five Kages, would you rather them just appear on tv randomly like the Daimayos? They needed to discuss where the Jinchuriki's go, they didn't get that far before Sasuke interrupted in the last meting and they had to rush their plans in which forgot about discussion there.
Yes, I get there was a good reason for them to meet. I was just saying that I was glad Kishi didn't redo the Five Kages Meeting arc.
Those are just some points to see, I could say more but to lazy.
You're too lazy? This is almost as long as my post! Rep Up!

mrsticky005

04-22-2010, 09:50 PM

Ok, let's face it: Naruto's been in decline since Chapter 402. Sasuke's "...to destroy Konoha!" line was the last "great" moment in the series.

This would've been great if Sasuke was lying about destroying Konoha
and was actually trying to gain power to kill Madara and complete his
revenge. When Sasuke said way back then that he "had a certain
someone to kill" it was alright but then became cool when Sasuke
and Itachi fought in 42 because it was like it wasn't just words.
But the destroying Konoha line isn't that great with it being true.
It's just a lame replacement for "killing that certain someone"
Now it's just I'm mad at the universe idiocy. Wah wah wah.
Now if Sasuke went and stayed insane like he did at the end of
the Sasuke-Danzo fight then the line would be great.
But now it just makes Sasuke inferior to Pain as a villain.

Since then, we've suffered through Naruto's Plot Win against Pain, both physically and mentally.

Naruto is the main character. What were you expecting?
Sure it's a little bit silly that he had to defeat all 6 Pain Paths at once
and everyone else had to stay out of the way but it was cool seeing
Naruto unleash ownage.

I won't even start on Killer Bee.

Ok. I didn't like him before but from this latest chapter I'm appreciate
him more. He feels like like an one-liner and more like a character that
could actually matter.

And Sakura mysteriously ditched hundreds of chapters of character development (and broke the laws of physics and adreniline) to ensure that Kishi's precious Sasuke survived, and could continue to "grace" future arcs with his "interesting" character.

Sakura did that with the Pain invasion when she had to call out
for Naruto for help. Heck she did that when she got owned by
4 tailed Naruto way back when. She had her 15 minutes of
fame in the Sasori fight. Don't expect anything more.

Sure, there's been good moments: the Five Kages arc, Sasuke-E fight notwithstanding, played several long-predicted cards (Fourth Great Shinobi War, Ten-Tailed Beast, Danzo has the Sharingan, etc.), but managed to make most of them interesting regardless.

The 5 Kage meeting was alright. It was interesting to see them finally.
I didn't like Sasuke vs Kages though. Felt too much like a delay.
Didn't care for Madara announcing the war. Ten Tailed Beast is bleh.
Danzo having Sharingan is awesome for the fact that Danzo totally
disgraced the Uchiha by doing so.

We got to spend a few dozen chapters thinking that Sakura would kill Sasuke and finally be redeemed in the eyes of the fans.

What a waste those chapters were. Sakura has been useless since
she got owned by 4 tails. She should go back to playing bridge with
Tsunade. However it did provide for an awesome moment of Sasuke
nearly killing her twice. (Would've been cooler if he had actually
did kill her but that's a bit much to be expecting.)

And you can't tell me anyone saw "Danzo-has-the-First-Hokage's-face-on-his-shoulder" coming. (Ok, so someone did predict it, but it was in one fairly small thread that didn't generate many responses until we found the twist out and were awed that the OP had figured it out months ahead of time.)

I saw a few people predict this here and there (some were other forums).
It was rather random power-up and kinda pointless. It was obvious
enough that he hated the First Hokage. This was just driving the point home.

But through it all, except for the Sasuke-E fight, it was good enough for me to look forward to it each week. That's now changed.

I didn't care for Sasuke vs Kages except Danzo. All the rest felt like
they were just delay.

Three weeks ago, we got the cliched twist that someone could bring all of the old villans back to life. And yet, somehow, Kishi actually made it feel uncliched and interesting.

You mean Kabuto? The only thing interesting is the mystery coffin.
And it's only interesting in that it's a mystery. Zombie Akatsuki is bleh.

But halfway through the chapter, we got the "Naruto-learns-to-control-the-Nine-Tails" storyline. Despite the huge build-up over the past few years, the "Controlling" has come off a Contrived Plot Power-Up. I've had to struggle to get throught the last two chapters. I'll start from Page 10 of Chapter 490.

Well it was gonna come to this sooner or later...

All Naruto has to do to gain complete control of the Fox's Chakra is unlock the Toad Frog's seal, and have a strong will with no hatred! Ok, first: Seriously?! Why have they never mentioned this before? Sure, this was vaugely alluded to in Chapter 370, but it feels like a big retcon of all the times where people wondered how Naruto could possibly control the Nine-Tailed Fox. Second: The whole "Pure-Hearted Hero" is so painful cliched. Besides, making the character like that reduces them to pure one-dimensionality. Oh wait, Naruto was already like that. Never mind...

This is where the author gets to be preachy. Oh joy. -_-

Kisame is inside Samehada! This will probably play out vaugely interestingly eventually, but for now that plot point's been forgotten.

Incredibly stupid how it worked out (Zetsu :roll:) but the fact that Kisame
is now inside Hidden Cloud gathering intel is quite awesome. Of course
the sad part is that it will probably be wasted. `~(

Killer Bee. Why do people find his character interesting? He's entirely one-dinensional (Strong, Pure-Hearted Black Rapper!). His power's generic Jinchuriki stuff, and his Biju being a cooperative teammate retcons a lot of what we'd heard about them. Anytime that he starts rapping, either aloud or in his head, it's so pathetic and Un-Rappy that I just skip over it. Seriously, I found the Filler Jinchuriki Utakata more unique and interesting than him, both in power and personality. I mean, I understand it's a person's personal opinion whether that like a character or not, but what do they see in him?! (I'm actually asking here.) To me, he represents all that is wrong with the Post-Chapter 402 Naruto world.

I didn't care for KB that much before. However now with the latest
chapter I like his development in character. He seems more mature.
I think people liked him mostly because he bested Sasuke.

That Gay Scene between Naruto and the Toad. I made a thread pointing out the double-entandre lines. ("Hey! Open Wider!" "Why through the mouth? This slimy feeling is making me gag...") Some people said that I was funny. Other people called me "a perv", "immature", and "the reason they're glad they're no longer in High School". (I'm in Middle School.) The fact of the matter is, I noticed it becuase it's so much more interesting to pretend the Gay Subtext is intentional than to see the scene for what it is: another Dull Development in the "Naruto-gets-a-retcony-powerup" storyline.

As said before, you've never heard people say "I got a frog in my throat"?

Two Random Ninja Guys want Naruto's autograph for their son. (Or something like that.) This scene is annoying, cliched, filler, and (at the time) seems to exist only to drive the point home: "Hey, the villagers like Naruto now!"

Hey it gave way for Dark Naruto. :D

The Re-Five Kages Meeting (thankfully) didn't last long, but it didn't exist for much other than to recap the "Should Killer Bee and Naruto be allowed to fight in the war?" debate, and establish that they'll be sent to an island... somewhere.

This was a waste of space. Why? Tsunade. I rest my case.

After the Generic Squid jumps out of the Generic Water, the Generic Cloud Ninja exclaims, "It's here!!! Th... This is the thing I was about to tell you to keep an eye out for, and now it's here!!!" Um... Thanks for the Contrived Exposition, but don't you have better things to do while the Squid's attacking than explain, in stilted dialogue, that this is what you were going to mention?

Just a way for KB to make an entrance. Stupid? Yeah.
But just be glad it didn't last too long.

Generic Cloud Ninja explains that Killer Bee's songs are, "not just any rhymes. It's an original style that combines a rap beat with the melody of a ballad. Ballad-Rapping!" He's clearly in admiration of Killer Bee's "mad skills" at rapping as he says this, which is so sad and depressing that I don't think I can mock the lameness of this event.

Kishimoto should have called Sai Shaft for some fresh rhymes. Ya hear?

Guy's (for some unexplained reason) on the boat! I usually find his appearances lame, but compared to the current cast, I really hope he gets to take some screentime away Killer Bee and Naruto to explain "The Power of Youth!!!"

I'm not going to bother to explain all the things we learn about the island and it's animals, but I will say that it's really, really cliched. (The Gorilla somehow understands Killer Bee's Japanese! Yay!)

DK is smart like that.

The house is (for the fans) shaped like the Eight Tails! ...Ok, I'll admit it. Kishi made it look pretty cool.

It's alright. Though now I wonder if Naruto will have a 9 tails house?

Naruto raps. ...OH GOD NO I'LL NEVER GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD!

I feel your pain.

Killer Bee and Naruto "bump their fists together", the "proper greeting". This feels like a sad and desperate attempt to have Naruto do "what all the cool kids are doing these days!" that's just as out-of-place in the Naruto world as when Naruto and Sasuke did it in the first opening theme.

I like this part actually. I just see it as a handshake.
Now Naruto and Sasuke fistbumping...that's retarded.

The return of Sexy Jutsu. No. Just... No.

Well this IS Shonen

Evil Naruto appears! Who knows, maybe, if I hadn't already filled myself with an intense hatred for this chapter, I would've liked this. But I was just trying to get it over with, and so I saw this event as a cliched, typical Manga Twist.

Dark Naruto is great. He gets to the point. Autographs suck.

Anyway, I started out just explaining how lame these chapters were, but found it was easier to do jokes about how bad they were instead. I spent about two hours on this, so if you found this funny or interesting, please take 10 seconds to Up Rep me. If you don't, then please comment, as it helps me feel like it was worth it to spend all my time on this.

Good way to get Rep is by repping others and leaving your name.

Writen in teh black.

Hidan

04-22-2010, 09:56 PM

You're too lazy? This is almost as long as my post! Rep Up!

Well yeah, I do agree he made him weaker, but Pain needed to capture him alive, which was a disadvantage for Pain. But yeah, full out Pain would have killed him easily. (Well, not easily easily, but easily)

Oh, then it must of been someone else who said Karin can defeat Danzo... sorry...

Nope, Konohamaru used Sexy Jutsu, Naruto was going to do a new perverted Ninjutsu but Sakura punched him.

Hmm okay... also Sakura started to dodge them after she got a hang on Sasori's finger movements with the iron sand. But in the beginning she was screwed without Chiyo, she controlled Sakura and held Hiriko's tail, and even if Hiruko was distroyed she wouldn't be protected by Mom and Dad puppets from Chiyo once Iron Sand was let out. But enough Sakura discussion.

Lol, I do have to admit, that was sort of... gay... although unintentional... I think...

Well, that is what happens, why do you think the media always find famous people doing bad stuff and not focus on normal people. And if you had to chose would you go up to some random person that isn't famous at all and ask for a autograph, or would you go up to Massashi Kishimoto for one? I think we know the choice :D

Oh okay, yeah, I am glad he didn't redo it, I would have like died xD

Also I usually post really long posts so that was sort of normal for me xD

I only need to point out that indeed DK is smart. Killer Bee is developing into a more interesting character.

Danzo has been the only good thing since the Pain arc. But it was very,very good if only short lived.

And it's Dark Naruto get with the program. "Annoying people calling me by the wrong name. I hate those jerks."

mrsticky005

04-22-2010, 10:05 PM

Wow, teh Tobi awesome comments. Less for me to do. Yay!

I only need to point out that indeed DK is smart. Killer Bee is developing into a more interesting character.

Danzo has been the only good thing since the Pain arc. But it was very,very good if only short lived.

And it's Dark Naruto get with the program. "Annoying people calling me by the wrong name. I hate those jerks."

Amen, Brother Wooster. Amen. Danzo is da man.

Too bad all the Sai Shaft scenes had to be cut because they were
too awesome for Naruto fans to handle.

Legend has it that Sai Shaft taught the Hidden Cloud the art of
fist bumping.

Wooster

04-22-2010, 10:12 PM

Amen, Brother Wooster. Amen. Danzo is da man.

Too bad all the Sai Shaft scenes had to be cut because they were
too awesome for Naruto fans to handle.

Legend has it that Sai Shaft taught the Hidden Cloud the art of
fist bumping.
*Sai Shaft Fist Bump*
Word.

Hidden in the Ether

04-22-2010, 10:21 PM

i tried to read your post but it was just too much criticism.

its like trying to watch a movie when the guy next to you keeps pointing out camera angles and saying they suck just cuz he knows why they are there. 'ohh its a close up! he wants us to look at his facial expression! how cliche!' ... 'ohh its a far away shot.. they want us to see the landscape.. how generic!!'

downer.

lol. sorry.

mrsticky005

04-22-2010, 10:24 PM

*Sai Shaft Fist Bump*
Word.

So what do you think a Dark Kiba be like...excuse me

Dark Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka

Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Hallo. I say Hallo. Do tell me who may be, good sir.

Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Pardon me, but I wish to set my tea cup down
yet I see no coaster nor do I see a saucer plate.

Dark Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Pshaw, I don't use coasters or saucers!

Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Good lord! How evil can one be?

C4 Karura

04-22-2010, 10:32 PM

This would've been great if Sasuke was lying about destroying Konoha
and was actually trying to gain power to kill Madara and complete his
revenge. When Sasuke said way back then that he "had a certain
someone to kill" it was alright but then became cool when Sasuke
and Itachi fought in 42 because it was like it wasn't just words.
But the destroying Konoha line isn't that great with it being true.
It's just a lame replacement for "killing that certain someone"
Now it's just I'm mad at the universe idiocy. Wah wah wah.
Now if Sasuke went and stayed insane like he did at the end of
the Sasuke-Danzo fight then the line would be great.
But now it just makes Sasuke inferior to Pain as a villain.
What was great about it was that it made no sense with what we had just found out. The line gave us a shocking development, and implied that there was something more going on that we didn't know about. However, it turned out we did know everything, Sasuke was being stupid, and things quickly went downhill.

Naruto is the main character. What were you expecting?
Sure it's a little bit silly that he had to defeat all 6 Pain Paths at once
and everyone else had to stay out of the way but it was cool seeing
Naruto unleash ownage.
I get that Naruto is the main character. It's just they had so cleverly built up Pain's emotional traumatization and awesome powers that the end felt too neat and tidy for the wreckage that had proceeded it.

Ok. I didn't like him before but from this latest chapter I'm appreciate
him more. He feels like like an one-liner and more like a character that
could actually matter.
Ok, I guess this is just a personal diagreement, then.

Sakura did that with the Pain invasion when she had to call out
for Naruto for help. Heck she did that when she got owned by
4 tailed Naruto way back when. She had her 15 minutes of
fame in the Sasori fight. Don't expect anything more.
That was what was so wonderful about the buildup to the fight. She had finally realized that she had become flaky since the Sasori fight, and was going to change that. And then she decided not to, for no reason beyond, "Kishi likes her better when she's depending on Naruto for help."

I saw a few people predict this here and there (some were other forums).
It was rather random power-up and kinda pointless. It was obvious
enough that he hated the First Hokage. This was just driving the point home.
I didn't think it was about not liking the First Hokage, I thought it was about, "F***, that guy has a FACE in his shoulder!"

I didn't care for Sasuke vs Kages except Danzo. All the rest felt like
they were just delay.
Actually, when I think about it, the other fights (besides Danzo) were boring, too. They were just a lot better than Sasuke-E.

Well it was gonna come to this sooner or later...
But I was hoping it would be, you know, interesting.

This is where the author gets to be preachy. Oh joy. -_-
I actually found this kind of funny! `:)

As said before, you've never heard people say "I got a frog in my throat"?
I get that there were ligitmate reasons the Frog was in his throat. I was just saying that the unintentional Gay Subtext was a lot more interesting than the actual scene itself.

Kishimoto should have called Sai Shaft for some fresh rhymes. Ya hear?
What is "Sai Shaft" anyway? I've heard you mention it a lot of times.

Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Pardon me, but I wish to set my tea cup down
yet I see no coaster nor do I see a saucer plate.

Dark Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Pshaw, I don't use coasters or saucers!

Sir Kiba Duke of Inuzuka: Good lord! How evil can one be?
I say, that Dark Sir Kiba of Inuzuka deserves a good thrashing. I do so indeed.

C4 Karura

04-22-2010, 10:37 PM

i tried to read your post but it was just too much criticism.

its like trying to watch a movie when the guy next to you keeps pointing out camera angles and saying they suck just cuz he knows why they are there. 'ohh its a close up! he wants us to look at his facial expression! how cliche!' ... 'ohh its a far away shot.. they want us to see the landscape.. how generic!!'

downer.

lol. sorry.
That's okay. I was kind of negative in the OP.

C4 Karura

04-22-2010, 10:39 PM

And it's Dark Naruto get with the program. "Annoying people calling me by the wrong name. I hate those jerks."
Wow. It's been a day since the chapter came out and there's already a widely accepted nickname for the one-panel character. Wonder who came up with it?

mrsticky005

04-22-2010, 10:42 PM

I find I get the most rep when I make a good thread in the Town Bookstore. That's what I was trying to do with this one, but it failed.

Check your user cp. ;)

I say, that Dark Sir Kiba of Inuzuka deserves a good thrashing. I do so indeed.

I couldn't agree more. Tea without coasters? How absurd! How silly

One might as well declare themselves American. Chortle. :lol:

;)

Vatanui AKA Pride

04-22-2010, 10:46 PM

I find I get the most rep when I make a good thread in the Town Bookstore. That's what I was trying to do with this one, but it failed.
...Are you saying that the whole intention of this thread was for you to beg for positive rep?

zerosameri

04-22-2010, 10:50 PM

I read this whole dame thing and that’s a 1st for me because I don't usually read your entire OP's in your threads. Any ways

Every great story going on for a long time needs plot development so they can move on to something big. Hence the down time no one likes. Most of the characters got them some longer than others.

This is the Kyuubi's plot development now, and we had to bring it/be in the story sooner or later.

With Sexy No Jutsu this is a shonen, this manga is meant for boys. We need something to spice up an action filled manga every so offend, hence Naruto's Sexy No Jutsu. If you didn't like that then oh well the Manga was meant for boys.

Kishi is known for unexpected twist and turns hence a great Manga. Every character is at least 2 dimensional, if every characters and chapter was known and to predicable no one would like it, or bother to read it...

---

@Vat: I was just about to say the same thing XD

Vivi

04-22-2010, 11:45 PM

What are People expecting?
Epic Chapter's every week?

This is just another training arc.They're never that brilliant.
Besides what Kishi does here is just the Calm before the Storm.

mrsticky005

04-22-2010, 11:54 PM

What are People expecting?
Epic Chapter's every week?

This is just another training arc.They're never that brilliant.
Besides what Kishi does here is just the Calm before the Storm.

Of course! Is that too much to ask for?

Vivi

04-22-2010, 11:56 PM

Of course! Is that too much to ask for?

Of course it is.
No Manga is capable of that.

Rasen_Chidori

04-23-2010, 12:24 AM

What are People expecting?
Epic Chapter's every week?

This is just another training arc.They're never that brilliant.
Besides what Kishi does here is just the Calm before the Storm.

I agree, and I think that I have said it before.

You can't have a story without character and plot development. Sure you could just have one epic fight after another but if you did you would get to the end of the story and no-one would know why any of it happened. No-one would know who the characters were and their reasons for doing what they did. Every story has ups and downs, epic action packed sections and less thrilling, plot developing sections. The less thrilling parts are usually the most important to the story since that is when you learn about the plot line and the events within it.

mrsticky005

04-23-2010, 12:26 AM

Of course it is.
No Manga is capable of that.

I know. I was just joking.

I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

But the wait still sucks.

dillydally

04-23-2010, 12:47 AM

Naruto has had one too many training arcs, I feel like that's all he does any more.

Vivi

04-23-2010, 12:59 AM

Naruto has had one too many training arcs, I feel like that's all he does any more.

Well that's Naruto for ya.

Kishi purposely did this.

Sasuke gets his powers out of nowhere while Naruto has to train to get stronger.

Effort vs Talent.
Will vs Skill.

zerosameri

04-23-2010, 01:08 AM

Well that's Naruto for ya.

Kishi purposely did this.

Sasuke gets his powers out of nowhere while Naruto has to train to get stronger.

Effort vs Talent.
Will vs Skill.But of corse Sasuke will win untill the last fight were Sasuke may get his ass kicked and finaly loose.

Wooster

04-23-2010, 05:45 AM

Actually, when I think about it, the other fights (besides Danzo) were boring, too.

Wow. It's been a day since the chapter came out and there's already a widely accepted nickname for the one-panel character. Wonder who came up with it?
Exactly right. Everything else is details.

I work fast. Heh.
Well that's Naruto for ya.

Kishi purposely did this.

Sasuke gets his powers out of nowhere while Naruto has to train to get stronger.

Effort vs Talent.
Will vs Skill.
Yes that's the whole point. The sad thing is even though Naruto has to work so hard to advance, Sasuke still was jealous that Naruto was almost as strong as him. What a jerk.

tyler

04-23-2010, 08:02 AM

Well that's Naruto for ya.

Kishi purposely did this.

Sasuke gets his powers out of nowhere while Naruto has to train to get stronger.

Effort vs Talent.
Will vs Skill.

agreed.

And C4, you complain way too much about a series you seem to read avidly.

Parak111

04-23-2010, 09:57 AM

Of course! Is that too much to ask for?

Of course it is.
No Manga is capable of that.

True. Besides, it's the suspense from the break that hypes you about the next fight. If you had fights for 100 chapters non-stop, you'd eventually grow bored because of the dullness...or at least I know that I would.

Hidden Ninja45

04-23-2010, 04:43 PM

Too long to read.
LOLz agreed.

I just skimmed through it since this seemed more like a rant/analysis than anything else.

Err

04-23-2010, 05:15 PM

Writen in teh black.

Which is why I didn't read it.

I found the rest of this thread quite interesting and I only give rep to people some of the time for some of my reasons, sometimes.

mrsticky005

04-23-2010, 05:32 PM

Which is why I didn't read it.

I found the rest of this thread quite interesting and I only give rep to people some of the time for some of my reasons, sometimes.

You didn't read it because it was written in black?

Ok.

Whatever.

crystalblade13

04-23-2010, 07:19 PM

im not gonna down rep you c4karura, but for crying out loud! your complaining about the most insignifigant, stupid things possible. ok, first off, your REALLY missing the point of everything. naruto never learned this fox stuff before because he was AFRAID of it. even if someone had told him of it ge would have declined. its to show that narutos now mature enough to do anything to achieve his goals. all of the squid, fist pump, and sexy jutsu stuff you mentioned is there for comedy and character detailing. if everything was serious all of the time and fighting non-stop like robots, this series would bore me to death. these chapters are BUILD UP. guys obviously on the island to wind up re-fighting kisame along with killer bee. theylle both be wearing down when naruto will show up with some increadible new powers and have a big fight with kisame. just be patient, i really think the series will hit a new high soon. as focus is away from the sauce and with everyone else.

crystalblade13

04-24-2010, 09:24 AM

oh, and kisame in samehada is going to play a MAJOR role.

Bratcipheo

04-26-2010, 09:45 AM

I actually didnt agree on one thing the op starter said.It's exactly opposite.

Magic

04-26-2010, 10:59 AM

I can see where your coming from, and you made some valid points, that obviously took time. So I repped you. Just don't ask for rep too much in future, it doesn't look good...

I agree with others at the same time though, I think the suspense make the fights/story better usually...

SageNaruto69

04-26-2010, 05:04 PM

@C4: i dont know... i like these kinds of naruto chapters. They are the kind that lets you see the whole naruto world. New training? Thats great! waterfall of truth? cool too!
people arent liking this but i cant see why not. its great. Naruto now a hero, not sitting on the emo swing crying for people to accept him. People now enjoy being next to him. Naruto telling the octopus lead me the way! that was the funniest part of naruto in a long time. Kabuto summoning all the akatsuki, sasuke with the EMS, killerbee to train naruto, whats not to like.

This is a great turn of events and is a great arc [so far]. Sasuke vs Gokage [including danzo] - great. Naruto meets sasuke and clash again was great too. I hope now that you look at it with all the points in front of you, you can appreciate it a bit more.

ANYWAY:
MAKE SURE YOU DONT FIND THIS OFFENSIVE IN ANYWAY, EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN OPINIONS. I WAS JUST SAYING WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS ARC.

ALSO:
I HATE WHEN FREAKIN NEW GUYS THINK THAT THEY ARE COOL BY SAYING "YOU'RE ASKING FOR REP? ILL GIVE YOU BAD REP" AND THEY ONLY HAVE LIKE 37 POSTS!
THEY HAVE TO LEARN WHERE THEY STAND. HOW DARE THEY DO THAT TO YOU C4.
JUST IGNORE AND MOVE ON.`;)
THERE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO YOU.

[sorry for the caps its more visible in a way, well they dont call me the CAPS man for nuthing]`:)

Naruto2921

04-27-2010, 05:39 AM

I can tell you are in middle school which is why you are unable to understand many things that have been happening.

kangyuta

04-29-2010, 12:20 AM

He is clear in what He asks and clear in what He offers. The choice is up to

KARINISSOSEXY

05-09-2010, 08:59 AM

Ok, let's face it: Naruto's been in decline since Chapter 402. Sasuke's "...to destroy Konoha!" line was the last "great" moment in the series. Since then, we've suffered through Naruto's Plot Win against Pain, both physically and mentally. I won't even start on Killer Bee. And Sakura mysteriously ditched hundreds of chapters of character development (and broke the laws of physics and adreniline) to ensure that Kishi's precious Sasuke survived, and could continue to "grace" future arcs with his "interesting" character.

Sure, there's been good moments: the Five Kages arc (Sasuke-E fight notwithstanding) played several long-predicted cards (Fourth Great Shinobi War, Ten-Tailed Beast, Danzo has the Sharingan, etc.), but managed to make most of them interesting regardless. We got to spend a few dozen chapters thinking that Sakura would kill Sasuke and finally be redeemed in the eyes of the fans. And you can't tell me anyone saw "Danzo-has-the-First-Hokage's-face-on-his-shoulder" coming. (Ok, so someone did predict it, but it was in one fairly small thread that didn't generate many responses until we found the twist out and were awed that the OP had figured it out months ahead of time.)

But through it all, except for the Sasuke-E fight, it was good enough for me to look forward to it each week. That's now changed.

Three weeks ago, halfway through the chapter, we got the "Naruto-learns-to-control-the-Nine-Tails" storyline. Despite the huge build-up over the past few years, the "Controlling" has come off a Contrived Plot Power-Up. I've had to struggle to get through the last two chapters. I'll start from Page 10 of Chapter 490.

All Naruto has to do to gain complete control of the Fox's Chakra is unlock the Toad Frog's seal, and have a strong will with no hatred! Ok, first: Seriously?! Why have they never mentioned this before? Sure, this was vaugely alluded to in Chapter 370, but it feels like a big retcon of all the times where people wondered how Naruto could possibly control the Nine-Tailed Fox. Second: The whole "Pure-Hearted Hero" is so painful cliched. Making the character like that reduces them to pure one-dimensionality. Oh wait, Naruto was already like that. Never mind...
Kisame is inside Samehada! This will probably play out vaugely interestingly eventually, but for now that plot point's been forgotten.
Killer Bee. Why do people find his character interesting? He's entirely one-dinensional (Strong, Pure-Hearted Black Rapper!). His power's generic Jinchuriki stuff, and his Biju being a cooperative teammate retcons a lot of what we'd heard about them. Anytime that he starts rapping, either aloud or in his head, it's so pathetic and Un-Rappy that I just skip over it. Seriously, I found the Filler Jinchuriki Utakata more unique and interesting than him, both in power and personality. I mean, I understand it's a person's personal opinion whether that like a character or not, but what do they see in him?! (I'm actually asking here.) To me, he represents all that is wrong with the Post-Chapter 402 Naruto world.
That Gay Scene between Naruto and the Toad. I made a thread pointing out the double-entandre lines. ("Hey! Open Wider!" "Why through the mouth? This slimy feeling is making me gag...") Some people said that I was funny. Other people called me "a perv", "immature", and "the reason they're glad they're no longer in High School". (I'm in Middle School.) The fact of the matter is, I noticed it becuase it's so much more interesting to pretend the Gay Subtext is intentional than to see the scene for what it is: another Dull Development in the "Naruto-gets-a-retcony-powerup" storyline.
Two Random Ninja Guys want Naruto's autograph for their son. (Or something like that.) This scene is annoying, cliched, filler, and (at the time) seems to exist only to drive the point home: "Hey, the villagers like Naruto now!"
The Re-Five Kages Meeting (thankfully) didn't last long, but it didn't exist for much other than to recap the "Should Killer Bee and Naruto be allowed to fight in the war?" debate, and establish that they'll be sent to an island... somewhere.
After the Generic Squid jumps out of the Generic Water, the Generic Cloud Ninja exclaims, "It's here!!! Th... This is the thing I was about to tell you to keep an eye out for, and now it's here!!!" Um... Thanks for the Contrived Exposition, but don't you have better things to do while the Squid's attacking than explain, in stilted dialogue, that this is what you were going to mention?
Generic Cloud Ninja explains that Killer Bee's songs are, "not just any rhymes. It's an original style that combines a rap beat with the melody of a ballad. Ballad-Rapping!" He's clearly in admiration of Killer Bee's "mad skills" at rapping as he says this, which is so sad and depressing that I don't think I can mock this event.
Guy's (for some unexplained reason) on the boat! I usually find his appearances lame, but compared to the current cast, I really hope he gets to take some screentime away Killer Bee and Naruto to explain "The Power of Youth!!!"
I'm not going to bother to explain all the things we learn about the island and it's animals, but I will say that it's really, really cliched. (The Gorilla somehow understands Killer Bee's Japanese! Yay!)
The house is (for the fans) shaped like the Eight Tails! ...Ok, I'll admit it. Kishi made it look pretty cool.
Naruto raps. ...OH GOD NO I'LL NEVER GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD!
Killer Bee and Naruto "bump their fists together", the "proper greeting". This feels like a sad and desperate attempt to have Naruto do "what all the cool kids are doing these days!" that's just as out-of-place in the Naruto world as when Naruto and Sasuke did it in the first opening theme.
The return of Sexy Jutsu. No. Just... No.
Evil Naruto appears! Who knows, maybe, if I hadn't already filled myself with an intense hatred for this chapter, I would've liked this. But I was just trying to get it over with, and so I saw this event as a cliched, typical Manga Twist.
It looks like the next arc will be focused on an obligatory Naruto/Killer Bee teamup, and I needed somewhere to vent my frusterations with this chapter.

Anyway, I started out just explaining how lame these chapters were, but found it was easier to do jokes about how bad they were instead. I spent about two hours on this, so if you found this funny or interesting, please take 10 seconds to Up Rep me. If you don't, then please comment, as it helps me feel like it was worth it to spend all my time on this.

EDIT: To those who say, "Earn Rep, don't beg for it!" I've found that more people give me rep if I remind them at the end, and given that I spent a few hours on this, I'd say I've earned the right to remind people and get a few more points. Now please don't Down Rep me for "asking for rep".

EDIT 2: Ok, maybe all this is exposition and set-up for the upcoming War Arc, and will be worth it in the end. But that doesn't change the fact that it's painfully bad right now. Does anyone else agree with me?

EDIT 3: -_-... Someone Down Repped me anyway. And to top it all off, they didn't leave a name.

In the words of Killer Bee: "Dude you don't need to shout! You don't know what the hell your talkin' bout!!"

That was horrible.
It was good, but those are bad reasons.....where do I start?
1:) All naruto has to do is not that. He also has to suppress that "evil naruto". It was building up.
2:)Apparently naruto wasn't a 1 dimensional pure character and Kishi was trying to explain that with this "evil" Naruto, are you so blind by your own arrogance you can't see this?
3:) That Ramen Shop scene with the autographs....well if you read the manga, you would know that it was there FOR A REASON.

Dark Naruto: Those Proud Fools...They Just Asked For Your Autograph Just Like That, But They Used To Treat Us Like A Pariah..."

4:) Kisame......No comment.
5:) Eight tails used to be just like what we "all heard about them"....But it explains that that is not the case anymore because Bee took control. Hmmm. Well, damn, maybe this is a reason people like him. Gee, I wonder?
6:) The Gorilla? Really? Youre bringing this up? Now this is just mindless complaining, considering in about every manga, an animal can comminucate with a human. What about TonTon and Pakkun? Or Fukasaku, you didnt say anything about thing about them.
7, 8, and 9:) The whole "fist bump", "Naruto raps", and "sexy Juu" hing just reinforces the last point I made about mindless complaining.

10:) You're the reason I'm gglad to be out of middle school.
11:) Don't ask for rep....XD

ANIMELVR4EVR

05-09-2010, 12:47 PM

umm i didn't read it all 'cause it was too long but i would have to diagree with you. Sure it's a little cliched but i think that made it more interesting. The whole kisame in samehada part was forgotten was probably (big probably) because there is so much about controlling the kyuubi and the fact that probably no one has realized it yet.

Defcon

05-09-2010, 12:48 PM

Naruto isn't getting worse or better.. it's always been entertaining (except for the fillers :D).. Only problem is, we only get to see so little each week, and sometimes it's frustrating :P I understand if some parts don't really add up to the storyline but hell, sometimes you need to stand still and view the surroundings.. I myself found it pretty cool that villagers asked Naruto's autograph, since he's finally making a name in Narutoworld.

Zazuro

05-09-2010, 01:59 PM

I'll have to disagree. I actually like where this is going and it gives interesting things there and there. I don't think these past few chapters was going downhill.

Sasuke was going to get EMS anyways. Naruto was going to control Kyuubi anyways. Madara would want control over the world anyways. Pain would have lost to Naruto anyways. We all saw it coming. Pain was going to destroy Konoha, he did it. Sasuke wants revenge on Itachi, we all knew he was going to his his revenge. Itachi did die. We all knew that the Akatsuki would die anyways. Danzou(hence...bad or good..) he was gonna die sooner or later.

Heck, I even knew Kakashi would try to face Sasuke alone....

Every manga has it's up and downs. Bleach is worse than this. Bleach have way too many plotkais and so forth. I personally liked Naruto better than Bleach, any manga out there.

Read the underneath of the underneath.

PS: Don't ask for rep. You'll get the exact oppoosite if you ever mention about it in your posts. Even if you worked on it for awhile, it's all a big worthless wasted time to even pull that crap out of nowhere.

We all have different opnions, that's why we have discussion threads, the WHOLE forum thing was the point. It's okay to give your opinion on it but make a whole new thread to sum up almost everything that happened since almost past 200 chapters? That's bull.

Sasori_X

05-09-2010, 06:42 PM

I'm gonna give this a try.

Ok, let's face it: Naruto's been in decline since Chapter 402. Sasuke's "...to destroy Konoha!" line was the last "great" moment in the series. Since then, we've suffered through Naruto's Plot Win against Pain, both physically and mentally. I won't even start on Killer Bee. And Sakura mysteriously ditched hundreds of chapters of character development (and broke the laws of physics and adreniline) to ensure that Kishi's precious Sasuke survived, and could continue to "grace" future arcs with his "interesting" character.

Agreed, Kishi tries to hard for character development that they seem pushed rather than doing the developing part. I mean what the heck is up with the Villains turning good by just talking to them? It makes you lose the "bad ass villain" reputation. And Sakura's only shining point was with the 100 puppet Sasori fight with Chiyo.

Sure, there's been good moments: the Five Kages arc (Sasuke-E fight notwithstanding) played several long-predicted cards (Fourth Great Shinobi War, Ten-Tailed Beast, Danzo has the Sharingan, etc.), but managed to make most of them interesting regardless. We got to spend a few dozen chapters thinking that Sakura would kill Sasuke and finally be redeemed in the eyes of the fans. And you can't tell me anyone saw "Danzo-has-the-First-Hokage's-face-on-his-shoulder" coming. (Ok, so someone did predict it, but it was in one fairly small thread that didn't generate many responses until we found the twist out and were awed that the OP had figured it out months ahead of time.)

Once again, Sakura always sucked as a character. And most of the wierd and bizarre things that have been happening to the story (IMO) were caused to disrupt people of their theories. Because apparently when I go to most forums, almost none of the theories were ever correct.

But through it all, except for the Sasuke-E fight, it was good enough for me to look forward to it each week. That's now changed.

That fight was fail when Sasuke's plot armor kicked in.

Three weeks ago, halfway through the chapter, we got the "Naruto-learns-to-control-the-Nine-Tails" storyline. Despite the huge build-up over the past few years, the "Controlling" has come off a Contrived Plot Power-Up. I've had to struggle to get through the last two chapters. I'll start from Page 10 of Chapter 490.

Meet Bleach, except with make believe ninjas.

All Naruto has to do to gain complete control of the Fox's Chakra is unlock the Toad Frog's seal, and have a strong will with no hatred! Ok, first: Seriously?! Why have they never mentioned this before? Sure, this was vaugely alluded to in Chapter 370, but it feels like a big retcon of all the times where people wondered how Naruto could possibly control the Nine-Tailed Fox. Second: The whole "Pure-Hearted Hero" is so painful cliched. Making the character like that reduces them to pure one-dimensionality. Oh wait, Naruto was already like that. Never mind...

Agreed, Naruto has been a 1 dimensioned character since the start. So this did not surprise me as much.

Kisame is inside Samehada! This will probably play out vaugely interestingly eventually, but for now that plot point's been forgotten.

The only thing that bothered me was, what happened if Killer Bee didn't take the Samehada? Kisame said it himself that the sword siding with Killer Bee was unexpected, so how on earth would Kisame be able to infiltrate the village?

Killer Bee. Why do people find his character interesting? He's entirely one-dinensional (Strong, Pure-Hearted Black Rapper!). His power's generic Jinchuriki stuff, and his Biju being a cooperative teammate retcons a lot of what we'd heard about them. Anytime that he starts rapping, either aloud or in his head, it's so pathetic and Un-Rappy that I just skip over it. Seriously, I found the Filler Jinchuriki Utakata more unique and interesting than him, both in power and personality. I mean, I understand it's a person's personal opinion whether that like a character or not, but what do they see in him?! (I'm actually asking here.) To me, he represents all that is wrong with the Post-Chapter 402 Naruto world.

Simple, cause he's black, actually looks old for his age, raps, and is pretty funny. But this is all opinionated.

That Gay Scene between Naruto and the Toad. I made a thread pointing out the double-entandre lines. ("Hey! Open Wider!" "Why through the mouth? This slimy feeling is making me gag...") Some people said that I was funny. Other people called me "a perv", "immature", and "the reason they're glad they're no longer in High School". (I'm in Middle School.) The fact of the matter is, I noticed it becuase it's so much more interesting to pretend the Gay Subtext is intentional than to see the scene for what it is: another Dull Development in the "Naruto-gets-a-retcony-powerup" storyline.

Lawl, frog in the mouth.

Two Random Ninja Guys want Naruto's autograph for their son. (Or something like that.) This scene is annoying, cliched, filler, and (at the time) seems to exist only to drive the point home: "Hey, the villagers like Naruto now!"

Now the villagers like him. I don't see anything wrong with it. At least they weren't trying to burn him to the stakes or anything.

The Re-Five Kages Meeting (thankfully) didn't last long, but it didn't exist for much other than to recap the "Should Killer Bee and Naruto be allowed to fight in the war?" debate, and establish that they'll be sent to an island... somewhere.

Tsunade was the one fighting to get Killer Bee and Naruto to the front lines so I didn't see it to much of a waist of time.

After the Generic Squid jumps out of the Generic Water, the Generic Cloud Ninja exclaims, "It's here!!! Th... This is the thing I was about to tell you to keep an eye out for, and now it's here!!!" Um... Thanks for the Contrived Exposition, but don't you have better things to do while the Squid's attacking than explain, in stilted dialogue, that this is what you were going to mention?

But its going to kill us...... 10000 leagues under the ocean anyone?

Generic Cloud Ninja explains that Killer Bee's songs are, "not just any rhymes. It's an original style that combines a rap beat with the melody of a ballad. Ballad-Rapping!" He's clearly in admiration of Killer Bee's "mad skills" at rapping as he says this, which is so sad and depressing that I don't think I can mock this event.

Its enka bro!!

Guy's (for some unexplained reason) on the boat! I usually find his appearances lame, but compared to the current cast, I really hope he gets to take some screentime away Killer Bee and Naruto to explain "The Power of Youth!!!"

He's there to foreshadow the Kisame vs. Gai thing. (I can bet you, this is going to happen).

I'm not going to bother to explain all the things we learn about the island and it's animals, but I will say that it's really, really cliched. (The Gorilla somehow understands Killer Bee's Japanese! Yay!)

He's been practicing on the island for awhile now so this is understandable, to a point.

The house is (for the fans) shaped like the Eight Tails! ...Ok, I'll admit it. Kishi made it look pretty cool.

Is this a complaint or what?

Naruto raps. ...OH GOD NO I'LL NEVER GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD!

Better than the mainstream rap we get now....

Killer Bee and Naruto "bump their fists together", the "proper greeting". This feels like a sad and desperate attempt to have Naruto do "what all the cool kids are doing these days!" that's just as out-of-place in the Naruto world as when Naruto and Sasuke did it in the first opening theme.

They're brothers now... no?

The return of Sexy Jutsu. No. Just... No.

Yes. Just.... Yes.

Evil Naruto appears! Who knows, maybe, if I hadn't already filled myself with an intense hatred for this chapter, I would've liked this. But I was just trying to get it over with, and so I saw this event as a cliched, typical Manga Twist.

Meet Bleach, where the main protagonist must be his evil half in order to get his power.

And please don't say things about repping you up. I was going to rep you, until I saw it and I figure (this is how this person's been getting reps?) Why should I bother?